


i found in you what was lost in me, in a world so cold and empty

by Quintessentia



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Fluff and Angst, Gen, Growing Up, Heavy Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Idiots in Love, M/M, Porn with Feelings, Taking Responsibility and Offering Forgiveness, Theo and his weird penchant for pet names that piss Liam off, a little too hard, and me forcing them to pick up the pieces everytime i smash them around, even when you're a werewolf and a walmart knock off of one, it's hard but you gotta do it, oh my god they suck so hard, the is basically just 'what would've happened if they'd fucked', this is extremely gay, this is just an excuse for Liam and Theo to yell at each other and have sex, to Yourself and Other People too, which is what we're all here for anyways so let's not pretend
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-15
Updated: 2021-03-15
Packaged: 2021-03-23 03:53:30
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 12,453
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30049482
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Quintessentia/pseuds/Quintessentia
Summary: "This cannot happen again," Liam says, wishing he had time to shower, to get the overwhelming smell of Theo off of him. "We're not doing this."Theo just looks at him, hair disheveled, face blank. "You keep saying that," he says slowly, sitting up in the bed. A lock of hair falls into his face. "I don't think it means what you think it means."Liam and Theo figure things out, together. They're really, really, really bad at it. (Set during and after 6B)
Relationships: Liam Dunbar/Theo Raeken
Comments: 7
Kudos: 60





	i found in you what was lost in me, in a world so cold and empty

**Author's Note:**

> Uh, so this is the terrifying love child of about ten different, unrelated snippets I've written in the past few weeks, borne of my desire to squash them together and try to make something that was marginally coherent. I don't think it worked, but I'll let everyone else be the judge of that, I guess. 
> 
> This will have a plot eventually, even if Liam and Theo try to distract everyone from it, but it'll only be a few chapters at most. They'll just be long chapters, filled with nonsense. You know the drill.
> 
> Title is from 'Dark On Me', by Starset, because it's 2014 and I'm emo.

It starts the same evening they drive back from the old zoo.

No, that's a lie, actually.

It starts before that; weeks before, maybe months. Before this newest threat, enormous and suffocating in its influence, had cropped up uninvited. It starts when they're in the hospital the first time, two creatures opposite one another, divergent in _every_ way. It starts when Theo tries to make a deal and Liam breaks the sword and the pull between them is still there, tinged with bitter relief and something much more permanent.

It starts when Liam drags him back up, out of the fucking ground, Theo helpless to do anything but follow.

That seems to be all he's good at, after that. Liam goes and Theo follows, and when he can't, the urge remains, crawling beneath his skin like smoke-spiders. Restless, he paces, first cuffed and then jailed and then _separated_ and--

Theo is a caged animal, forgotten in that cell while the rest of the town falls away to nothing, no one.

Liam comes back for him.

' _We need him_ ,' he says, not for the first time, and Theo wonders what it's like to be _wanted_ ; if the shape of it feels different.

He's all harsh edges after that, same as always, teeth and sharper tongue--' _two of us, this isn't even a car key, you--you're going first!'_ \--and fear runs hot in his veins. It's easier when they're fighting, letting the animals creep into his head, clicking into place with a viciousness so crystal clear it almost feels authentic.

Theo shouldn't be surprised in the slightest when Liam saves him again, despite everything.

He is anyways, but this time is different somehow. Liam shoots the Rider, the one choking Theo out, then shoots the one grappling him for the gun, and that might be why Theo's ears are ringing but he sincerely doubts it because Liam looks over at him and Theo's just, well--

Theo's gone and imprinted on him like he's the real thing, a real wolf, real coyote, real boy. It feels real, feels like the only thing that's real in the entire hospital and Theo is terrified, so terrified he has to get Liam out, get him _away_.

Theo can deal with the rest.

Later, weeks later, he's curled up in the back of his truck, _separated_ again and he wonders how many punishments he'll have to endure before the other shoe drops.

Liam's there, in the police station. Theo can smell him the moment he walks in and the coyote thrashes so angrily against his skull it makes his head swim. The wolf stays put--quiet, dark, ever present. Waiting to see what Theo will do next.

As it turns out, the answer is 'not much'. Theo's locked up again, though not for long, and he doesn't even get a chance to contemplate running or hanging around before the place is surrounded by hunters.

Their reunion isn't much of one, two caged animals pressed close together in the station as the hunters make escalating threats, trying to push Scott and the Sheriff to give up two of their own, the two skinny pups Theo had been tied up with just hours ago.

He feels like shit, static in his bones built up from the electric torment from earlier, lack of food and sleep, and the raw _fear_ that he feels curdling in his gut as the minutes tick by, closer and closer to midnight.

He pulls Liam aside, thinks that maybe it'll make a difference. They'd fallen into place beside one another just moments after the doors had been barricaded, and Theo had waited, pressed into the back corner of the station with Liam only inches away from him, where Theo could see him clearly, touch him if needed.

Liam seems resigned at first, whether to the dire consequences of their situation or to Theo inevitably coming back to bite him in the ass--metaphorically, of course. But then Theo has to go and fuck it all up, has to give into the fear and the uncertainty and be a dick, just like always. He gets in Liam's face, accuses him, because _Monroe's not gonna stop_ and Liam's too blinded by grief and guilt to see that this is only going to end one way.

Liam hits him, and Theo probably deserves it, even though he was only telling the truth this time, but he's not very good at that and Liam steps over him, leaves him bleeding on the floor with a threat and a promise all wrapped up in one furious package.

Theo nurses his pride and his nose back into working order, but things only get worse from there and then they're bargaining, trying to buy time to get out, get away before Monroe realizes what they've done. It feels better than he'd like to admit, being asked to help, being asked by _Scott_ of all people, and Theo tries not to dwell on it, on the satisfaction.

It doesn't work, big surprise there, but apparently being in the FBI really does grant people a get out of jail free card, because Agent McCall barters for them, buys them an exit out of the station, so long as they leave town as well.

Theo hears the lie in Scott's chest when he tells his father they'll go, knows he's in deep when he and Liam brush shoulders on the way out, when he smells the slightest hint of relief emanating from the younger boy as Jiang and Tierney are ushered away to relative safety.

Theo stays, after a long cluster of days spent trying to _escape_ , and the decision sits uncomfortably beneath his skin, the proximity to Scott's pack crawling like ants along his flesh as he waits. The pack deliberates and he doesn't join, just lingers dark and quiet in the corner of the room, like one lone letter on a neon sign refusing to blink to life alongside the others.

Liam comes up with a plan, the wheels turning in that smart little head of his, and he asks Theo to go with him, looks him in the eye and says _'You're coming with me'_.

Theo goes, because _hello_.

The plan works, kind of, but Liam flies off the rails and Theo has to right him once, twice, _five_ times before he's groaning awake in Theo's truck at the end of the night, his pride and jawbone mottled with bruises.

It's ironic, Theo thinks, that it turned out this way.

Liam had brought him back, body and soul and baggage all clumped together in one dirt-encrusted mess. Saved him, more or less, though he knows it was never really about saving Theo, not then, anyways.

Maybe not now either, but that's a _what-if_ he's bitten off and chewed on so thoroughly there's nothing left for him to taste of it. It's not supposed to matter, he reminds himself. This is repentance, or something like it, his own shoddy attempt at something resembling selflessness.

There's not supposed to be anything in it for him.

Liam looks at him, blue eyes grey and weary in the dim light of the truck cabin, and Theo has never wanted so badly to be selfish in his life.

He's not very good at this either, at being constructive. Even when all of his motives had been purely in his own interest, they had done little more than crumble a short time later, taking him with them as he'd been dragged down, down, _down_ to his punishment.

He doesn't know what it looks like to Liam. Theo is fantastic at lying; a natural, even. It stands to reason that he'd be terrible at this: awkwardly patting Liam back together with clumsy hands after a day of using them to stop the kid from falling apart.

It's ironic, he thinks. Theo doesn't have a magical sword or a good heart or even the same shade of desperation that had driven Liam to summon him back up in the first place. He has nothing but misshapen guilt and steady conviction, fixation, _determination_. He could pull Liam back from the edge, save his life a thousand times and they'll still never come up equal.

He looks over at Liam, bruised and stormy-eyed in the passenger seat, takes note of the soft, giddy thump in his own chest and thinks ' _maybe it's not so ironic after all'_.

"You think really loudly, you know."

Theo turns back to the road, grips his hands tighter on the steering wheel. They're clammy, he realizes a second too late.

"What's that supposed to mean?" he asks, trying to keep his voice casual.

Liam snorts. "You keep staring," he says, like he isn't admitting out loud to _noticing_. "You tell me what it means."

Theo curses himself quietly. Liam isn't a subtle person, never has been. He's a basket case of staunch denial and poorly grasped emotions, but not subtle, never subtle. Theo should know better by now.

"I'm tired," he says quietly, because he is. "We need to find somewhere to stop."

"Can't help with that one." Liam's head thunks against the window, and Theo can hear him grimace in immediate regret. "I didn't plan things this far out."

"I never would've guessed," Theo replies. The look Liam shoots him is too mopey to be properly angry, and Theo's mouth quirks upwards again, despite the lethargy creeping up on him. "Don't get your panties in a twist, I'll find us somewhere to park for the night."

"Do I have a choice?" Liam mutters into his arm, slumped into the door now.

Theo thinks _'you did'_ and then ' _you chose me'_ , but he says nothing. They fall into silence once more as he steps on the gas, the truck eating up the long, dark miles in front of them as he racks his brain for a safe place to take them both.

-.-

The safe place turns out to be off the beaten path, in a copse of trees so old and heavy with pine needles they nearly block out the sky. The night is cool, but not cold, and Theo parks the truck behind a particularly thick cluster of branches, blocking any intruders' view of them from more than a few feet away.

It's the best he can do at a time like this. They can't go back home, not with all the hunters crawling around like frenzied ants, trying to sniff the lot of them out. He doesn't want to leave town either, not really anyways, not even to find a motel that might-- _might_ \--be safe enough to crash in for a few hours.

Liam, who's only been half-conscious for the past twenty or so minutes, groans and squeezes his eyes shut just moments after they flutter open.

"Seriously," he grumbles, when he takes in the shrubbery and the muted sounds of the woods at night, "you expect me to sleep in your car?"

"You could always climb a tree," Theo suggests amicably. "I'm sure no one would think to look for you up there. Can't promise the squirrels won't be pissed about you moving in, though."

"You can climb the damn tree," Liam mutters, but the words are heavy with exhaustion. He doesn't move at first, watching Theo jump out of the driver's side door, rooting around in the back for a stack of blankets he'd stowed away under the bench seat.

The bed of Theo's truck isn't particularly long, only a 4x4 with no real cushion to speak of, but if he lets the tailgate down and spreads a few blankets out, it's better than curling up in the back seat. He's done it a few times, on days when it was warmer out and he was confident enough to do so.

It's less ideal now than ever, but they won't fit in the cab together, and trying to sleep in the front seat is virtually impossible, so tailgating it is.

"What're you doing?" Liam asks, slipping out of the truck when Theo rounds the back, unlatching the gate and letting it rest. "You gonna sleep outside?"

Theo hops up into the truck bed with an easy leap, boots finding purchase on the grooved metal as he arranges the blankets at his feet. He raises an eyebrow at Liam, who's traded standing there like a lost puppy for leaning sleepily against the side of the truck.

"You wanna sleep in the cab, be my guest," he says, settling the last blanket over top of the rest. "Just because you're short doesn't mean it won't kill your knees."

"My knees are fantastic," Liam replies, like that makes any damn sense. "At least they don't have to carry the weight of my massive ego all the time."

Theo just shrugs off his coat, tossing it onto the pile of blankets and sitting down gingerly. He looks at Liam, their faces closer than he'd initially realized, and wonders yet again how Liam had made it this far as a werewolf, much less a human in the years prior.

"That's great for your knees," Theo says dryly, ignoring the jab. It's easier than he'd expected it to be. "You gonna join me or not?"

_That_ gets Liam's attention, his eyes blinking widely back at Theo, like being tired also saps him of his ability to read context clues in any situation. Theo waits with more patience than he's shown for just about anyone since he can remember, and he thinks that in and of itself might be penance enough.

"You try and cuddle me, I'll stab you in your lung," Liam threatens after a painfully long moment of deliberation. Theo's not a mind reader, but he can practically see Liam going through all five stages of grief right there, a foot away from him as he contemplates the pros and cons of sharing a 'bed' with Theo.

"Which one?" he asks, as Liam clambers over the edge of the truck in his trademark ungraceful manner, nearly falling into Theo's lap in the process. He snorts in amusement, cutting Liam off before he can even try to threaten him again. "You suck."

"Die," Liam replies, sprawling out on top of the blankets without so much as a glance in Theo's direction. "I hope a squirrel bites you in the nuts while you're sleeping."

Theo tosses a spare hoodie at him, a mock grimace crossing his face despite the fact that he knows Liam can't actually see it. "Try not to spend too much time thinking about my junk," he ribs, settling onto his back. "I don't wanna wake up with you humping my leg or anything."

Liam's taking up more than his fair share of the truck bed, but it's not an accident when he elbows Theo in the side.

"M'not a fucking dog," he growls, and Theo elbows him right back, because he's not Liam's goddamned punching bag.

"No," he answers, scowling. "I guess you're just a little puppy, aren't you?"

Liam kicks him, harder this time, and Theo swats him back, unwilling to let Liam have the final jab. It's childish maybe, and they've had far too long of a day today to be engaging in more slapfights, but Theo's self control is only _mostly_ perfect, and there's no one else out here but them.

"Asshole," Liam barks, whipping him with the hoodie like Theo hadn't given it to him out of pure generosity. The angle of the swing is awkward, but Theo jabs him in between the shoulder-blades in response and then Liam is _on_ him, swiping at Theo's face with nubby, claw-less fingers.

They wrestle like boys, like the dogs Liam claims they really aren't, and Liam gets him good a few times; kneeing Theo in the kidney at least once and aiming for his junk for a frighteningly extended period of time. Theo manages to ward him off, his superior wrestling skill outweighing Liam's more considerable strength, and gets Liam beneath him in less than a minute flat.

They lie there for a moment, Liam's legs tangled awkwardly between Theo's own, and Liam growls at him--the real thing, all deep and guttural like he's actually pissed or something--but his eyes remain blue, so Theo doesn't bother worrying. He presses Liam's arms more firmly into his chest where he's pinned them, and lets himself enjoy his victory.

"You gonna chill out one of these days?" he asks on a laugh, giddiness making a home in his chest. Liam is so easy to rile up like this, so much more fun to be around when he stops brooding about being a fucking firecracker and actually lets the sparks fly. Theo can work with this: the petty bullshit, the way Liam always, _always_ gives as good as he gets.

"Not around you," Liam fires back, but he lets out a breath, the warm air tickling at Theo's forehead. "Not if you don't ever learn to leave me the hell alone."

"Not gonna happen." Theo says it before he can stop himself, before he can think too hard about the implications of that, of _staying_. "Who else could be this easy, Liam?"

Liam just huffs, eyes flicking down to where Theo's holding his wrists tight against his sternum. Theo recognizes that look, the same one that came before another crushing punch and a self-satisfied ' _Three times_ ' only a few short hours ago. He presses closer, nearly impossible to manage with the way they're already flush with one another, but he's not getting punched again, not like this.

Liam's eyes drag up the side of Theo's face, like a hot poker leaving a line of heat along his skin, and Theo has to suppress a shudder at the abrupt change in atmosphere. They're so close, close enough that Theo can feel every inch of Liam against him, and when Liam's gaze slides to meet his, he swallows.

It comes crawling back, rising up through his chest and into his throat, that desire from before--to be selfish, to _want_. He sees Liam's lips part, his eyes half lidded and so, so pale in the darkness around them. Theo can see him perfectly, moonless sky be damned, so when Liam leans in just a hair, just enough for it to be intentional, Theo meets him halfway.

It's a dry kiss at first, the two of them uncertain, tense in the way they're bound up in one another, Theo clamping his thighs down around Liam's. The other boy's pulse is pounding beneath Theo's fingers; he can feel it beneath the thin skin of Liam's wrists, taste it on his ragged breaths.

They brush noses when they part, and Theo cracks his eyes back open, wondering when he'd made the conscious decision to shut them. Liam's staring at him, thin slits of grey-blue peering back at Theo, like if he opens them all the way he'll have to think about who's on top of him, what they're doing.

When Liam says nothing, doesn't push him away or try to bite him just for looking too long, Theo leans back in. It's more than just a press of lips this time, the soft swell of Liam's bottom lip dragging against his as he deepens the kiss. Liam tastes the way he smells: good, clean, with an edge of something Theo can't put his finger on.

He kisses the same way, and it draws Theo in, leaves him wanting for more as their tongues brush, the quiet intimacy of it setting Theo's nerves abuzz. Liam's kissing him, he thinks. Liam who pulled Theo from hell, who bosses him around without a second thought, who snarls and spits and then, miraculously, _settles_ whenever he lets Theo get close enough.

Theo is never going to be able to get close enough.

It's the only thing on his mind as he lets go of Liam's wrists, one hand moving to cup Liam's jaw as he props himself up on the other, kissing the boy beneath him until they're gasping. Theo is _aching_ in his jeans and he can feel Liam against him, hot and hard and he dares to shift his hips, swallows the little whine that earns him like it's a breath of fresh air.

When they pull apart, Theo goes right for the slope of Liam's jawline, their cheeks rubbing up against each other. His nose finds the crook of Liam's neck, lips and teeth seeking out the soft flesh like he'd been drawn there. Liam whimpers, chin tilting up in something so close to _submission_ it makes the wolf inside Theo bare its teeth.

"Should've done this before." He doesn't mean to say anything, much like before, but the words trickle out, spilling into Liam's skin, and the other boy shivers. "Wouldn't have gone to all the trouble of knocking you out earlier if I'd known I could do this instead."

"Shut up," Liam murmurs in return, the hand that had anchored itself in Theo's hair loosening just enough to be noticeable. "God, why do you have to ruin _everything_?"

Theo shrugs, unable to roll away now that he has this, for however long Liam's willing to let him keep it. "Thinking about ruining you," he admits, sucking a bruise right beneath Liam's jaw. He knows it won't stay, doesn't let himself despair over the thought. "Might be kinda hot."

Liam grunts, tugging at the strands still wrapped around his fingers. "We're not fucking in the bed of your truck," he retorts, making no move to let go. "We're sure as hell not doing it outside, either."

Theo tuts, drawing his mouth away from Liam's skin to rest his cheek against his collarbone, sighing.

"Thought you'd be more adventurous than that, bud," he says.

Liam pinches him, hard. "First of all, don't call me 'bud'," he demands when Theo barely even flinches. "Not when your dick is right _there_ , and secondly, was today not adventurous enough for you, or what?"

"My dick's not going anywhere, _bud_." Theo emphasizes the nickname, because he can. "And last time I checked, we didn't really have time for a quickie earlier today at the zoo, what with the hunters and your murderous rage and everything."

This is all new to him, especially the part where Liam hadn't, thankfully, punched him in the teeth the moment Theo had leaned in to kiss him just a few minutes ago. He's not quite sure what to do with it--this sudden, strange development. Do they talk about it?

"You overestimate how attractive you are," Liam answers, grumbling. He tugs at Theo's hair one more time, then slaps him on the back. "Get off me, you thug. You're heavy as fuck and I like breathing."

"Bo-oring," Theo singsongs under his breath, but he does as he's asked, the reminder that they need to actually sleep creeping back up on him like warm water rising. "Not even a good night kiss?"

"You got one," Liam turns away from him, burying his face in the balled up hoodie once more. "Don’t be greedy."

"Handjob?"

"Good night, Theo."

Theo scoffs to himself but quiets, listening as Liam's breaths even out over the next few minutes, his own heartbeat sinking down to an easy rhythm alongside them. Liam’s closer than he'd been before, his spine pressed up against Theo's arm, and if Theo were to turn on his side, he could wrap himself around Liam like a blanket.

Instead, he turns away, shoulder mashing uncomfortably against the metal grooves beneath the blankets, and he grimaces to himself. They're not talking about it, not right now anyways, and overthinking it won't do him any good.

He falls asleep in minutes, but the ever-present phantom line of heat at his back seeps into his thoughts and stays there, even into the morning.

-.-

Liam wishes they'd never left the woods.

The next day is--well, it's shit, to be perfectly honest. Theo drives them back, and Liam's phone is dead to the world, so Theo has to be the one to text Scott, who had already texted Theo sometime last night with a ' _you guys ok_?'.

Theo drops Liam off at the clinic, because they're still not sure if it's safe to go by his house, and Deaton had allowed them all to stash a few extra pairs of clothes there anyways, just in case. He drives away, and Liam watches him go for a moment, unsure what to make of everything.

The cold air tickling him through his shredded, bloodstained shirt reminds him of Theo, smug and unapologetic, blood in his teeth from where Liam had punched him one too many times. The tickle turns into a stab of warmth, something as bitter as it is familiar, and Liam turns on his heel, disappearing into the clinic before he can do something he might regret.

He's not sure who's shirt it is that he fishes from the supply closet, but it's comfortable enough and anything is better than looking like he'd almost lost a fight with a wild animal. His phone starts buzzing off the hook the moment he gets it charged past 5%, and Liam wastes no time calling Scott directly once he gets halfway through the barrage of texts.

The rest of the afternoon is a blur, the passage of time blotted out by _fearangerfearangerfearANGER_ when Scott tells him about the ambush, about his mom in the hospital, innocent humans and wolves alike on the other end of a hunter's bullets.

For awhile, he waits. He knows it was Gabe, it _has_ to be. Gerard or Monroe would've shot to kill, would've taken more of them out if at all possible, and it can't be Nolan or some random goon, not after yesterday, so that leaves Gabe. He's capable, just fanatical enough without being too stupid to get himself caught at the scene, and Liam watches him loiter outside the school like everything's normal.

Like he hadn't just tried to murder half the people Liam holds dear.

In the locker room, it goes about as well as can be expected: he's slipping off the edge again, jerking Gabe around and it feels so good to see him bleed and _beg_. His forehead thunks against the mirror and the glass breaks, spiderwebbing dangerously and Liam wants to keep pushing, pressing until Gabe's skull gives way beneath the pressure, cracking like a spoiled egg.

He doesn't get to, though.

He registers the scent before the reflection, before the presence behind him, and _of course_. Theo's not going to leave him alone, not going to let him be because when has anything in Liam's life ever been easy? He talks and talks and Liam fucking hates the sound of his voice, stupid and smug and _fuck_ \--

He wishes he'd tossed Gabe into a locker at least, but that's not even the most annoying part because Theo is _right_ and Liam hates it more than anything. He's unflappable, standing there cool and calm and smelling like soap and hair gel, patiently staring at Liam like he's a toddler having an episode.

It smarts because he _is_ \--having an episode, that is--and he's pissed because he's still angry, but he's not even angry at the thing he's supposed to be angry about. Fucking Theo, making him mad but not even about the right stuff. Liam wants to punch him, right in his too-pretty face and ruin the way he's washed himself completely of the Theo from last night, the one who'd been a little softer, a little more real.

Liam doesn't trust this Theo, the one without a hair out of place, with eyes a little too placid. It reeks of before, of the Theo who had been trying to mask the danger in his scent, to play nice with a knife hidden behind his back.

Still, Gabe runs his mouth and Theo picks up where Liam left off, shoving Gabe right back into the mirror and Liam thinks _way to show your true colors_ , before he stiffens. He thinks about the two of them dragging Gabe's body out back, shoving him in a garbage bag, and having to break a few pieces off to make it all work.

He thinks about having to keep that kind of secret, of being guilty of murder alongside Theo Raeken himself, and decides he'll let himself be grateful, just this once.

The bodies are an unexpected twist, but the pieces are coming together, and it figures that the hunters and the Anuk-Ite would be tangled up in one another. Gabe had been helping the thing, however unwittingly, but Liam wouldn't put it past him not to give a shit about the consequences.

It seems they're all a little numb to the seriousness of their own deeds, apparently.

Liam texts Scott, lets him know what they'd learned, and then there's nothing to do but wait in the meantime. Wait with _Theo_ , that is, because he seems to have decided that Liam's business is his business these days, and he shows no signs of getting bored with whatever he's got brewing behind those eyes of his.

"The bodies are gonna keep piling up." Liam can't help himself, his blunt nails tapping against the radiator mounted to the wall. The sound echoes, and he grits his teeth.

"Maybe we’ll get lucky," Theo shrugs unhelpfully, eyeing Liam's restless fingers. "Scott might know something we don't."

"Unless he knows where to start looking for a werewolf with a stolen face, it's not looking good." He grips the metal beneath his hands, trying to anchor himself. "The hunters are getting more aggressive--pretty soon we won't be able to walk the streets without getting shot in broad daylight."

"Everyone's getting aggressive," Theo reminds him, like Liam can't feel the evidence of it in every inch of his bones. "If the hunters push hard enough, we won't be the ones on the losing side when it comes down to it."

"Yeah?" Liam still can't tell if Theo just doesn't think things through, or if he just doesn't care. "And what's that gonna cost us, in the end?"

He thinks about Mason, about Scott's mom, about Argent, and even Lydia, who's still soft despite her own abilities. If things get messy the way they did last night, what will happen to them? The hunters don't care about protecting anyone, not even their own, they've made that clear enough. It's not enough, he thinks, to be on the winning side, not when the price is so steep.

What use are teeth and claws if they're only good for keeping himself alive?

Theo looks at him, and Liam looks back. It's kind of sad, honestly. He doesn't know what it's like to be so selfish you only give a shit about yourself. For all Liam's faults, he knows what he'd do to keep his family--his _pack_ \--safe.

"How much are you willing to pay?" Theo asks him, and Liam's mouth hardens. _More than you_ , he thinks to himself.

Theo blinks, eyes a little wider, brighter, and for a moment Liam wonders if he'd said that out loud. His lips remain pressed shut, however, and Theo looks away like he's been burned, expression stalling.

"This can't go on," Liam says, the first thing that comes to his mind. He's not sure where it had even come from, and Theo's face twists into a grimace.

"What can't?" he asks. Liam pauses.

"I don't--I don't know." He gestures lamely into the air, at nothing. He's not even sure they're thinking the same thoughts right now, which he hadn't even realized might be a problem. "All of it?" he finishes, shrugging. "I'd kill for just one thing I could actually get a grip on, y'know? Everything feels so much bigger than me and I can't--I just need _something_."

"Most things are bigger than you." Theo points out, and Liam feels the urge to deck him again. It's becoming a routine occurrence. "I'm just being serious," the chimera continues, quirking a half smile.

Liam finds himself looking away.

"I was serious last night too." His head snaps back up before he's even had a chance to shake off Theo's little grin. "About you needing to work all of this out, yeah? You're never gonna get a grip on anything until you figure yourself out first."

That's honestly the worst advice Liam's ever heard. "If that's true, then I'm fucking screwed," he retorts, crossing his arms. "I have a _disorder_ , Theo. It's not just the wolf. I couldn't get a hold on any of it back when I was human--you really think I have a chance in hell now?"

"I wasn't lying last night," Theo says, raising an eyebrow. "You get angry when you're afraid, Liam. That's the root of it. You wanna solve a problem? You should know where to start."

"It's not just gonna go away if I try hard enough," Liam protests. "That's not how any of this works."

"It's not about making it go away." Theo's voice is quiet, almost soft. "It's about taking responsibility for it. You can't do that if you keep wallowing."

"I'm _not_ ," Liam recoils, stung, "fucking wallowing in anything. I don't have an anchor anymore, goddammit. I've got nothing to ground me and there's a creature out there having a fucking field day with the shit in my head."

Theo regards him with an expression Liam's never seen before. He's not sure he's ever seen it on anyone's face, but then again, maybe authentic emotions just come out wrong when they're Theo's. It wouldn't surprise him, not after everything.

"I don't believe in anchors," Theo says, after a long moment that makes Liam's toes curl in his boots. "They're good in a pinch, yeah, but long term?" He taps one finger against his temple, mouth drawn in a wry, grim line. "A single lock won't stop someone who's determined to break in."

Liam struggles to swallow, wonders where the lump in his throat had come from.

"No more of this 'anchor' bullshit," Theo tells him, eyes hard. "You wanna stop someone from getting inside your head? Figure your own shit out. Don't give anyone room to plant something that isn't yours."

He feels raw, pressing back against the radiator as the lump in his throat persists. He doesn't want to ask how Theo knows all of this. He doesn't think he needs to.

"I don't want to do this alone," he says, finally. It's difficult to speak. "I _can't_."

"Never said you had to," Theo's still looking at him, unblinking, "but you're not gonna get anywhere by ignoring yourself."

It's hard to look back, to meet Theo's eyes. Liam feels poked at, prodded, like Theo's been feeling him out this whole time, searching for the weak spots. It smarts, that Theo is able to find them so easily, that he can step into Liam's head like the door has been left open, an invitation.

Liam is tired of people inviting themselves in.

"So what's it to you?" he asks, because he's not stupid. Theo isn't a charitable guy; it's not in his bones. "Why do you care if I deal with my shit or not?"

Theo shrugs, glances away. "You're not the center of the universe, y'know," he replies harshly, and Liam bristles. "The rest of us are trying to figure things out too."

It's not an answer, and it's not the first time Theo's dodged his questions. Liam's too incensed to linger on what that not-so-careful evasion implies.

"You're impossible," he sneers, folding in on himself. "I can't believe I have to put up with you."

He's not the best with scenting emotions, but even Liam can tell when the air around Theo shifts, sparking like a live wire.

"That's not how you felt last night," he says like an asshole, even though they're _not_ talking about it. Liam has made plenty of mistakes, and Theo is undoubtedly one of them, but that doesn't mean he's just going to let history repeat itself.

"I was tired and you were being a dick," he snipes. "It's not like I've thought about it."

That part is only mostly true, because Liam has definitely thought about it since last night, was thinking about it pretty intensely while it was happening, but that's not his fault. Theo's an intense guy, they both are, and they're _teenagers_. Shit happens.

"You're thinking about it now," Theo points out, like he isn't the one who brought it up. "We could always, I don't know, think about it some more?"

Liam glares at him. Last night hadn't been terrible, all things considered, but that's exactly why he can't make it a habit. Theo is not going to slip under his skin, he determines. He's not going to make himself at home, like he belongs there, like this is okay.

"I hate you," Liam tells him, straight faced. It's probably true. Hopefully.

"We can still make out." Theo's back to grinning, almost lasciviously. It makes Liam want to bite him, which is a thought he has far, _far_ too often in situations like these nowadays. Not that he finds himself thinking about kissing Theo that often, but still.

"We can't," Liam presses, aware of how close they are, of how easily Theo is occupying his space. He draws himself up, tries to make himself bigger. "We're _not_."

"Can’t or shouldn't?" Theo asks, turning until he's facing Liam head on, hips angled towards him. "I don't know about you, but I've done a lot of things I shouldn't. This seems pretty small by comparison."

Liam just glares harder, because he doesn't have an answer for that other than to agree reluctantly. The bar is on the fucking ground. Theo knows it, must be more than okay with using it to his advantage.

"This cannot keep happening," he repeats, but he's already leaning in, giving in.

Theo's eyes dance, green and satisfied, and Liam hears the question in his head this time ' _can't or shouldn't_?' before their mouths connect and Liam stops hearing damn near anything.

It's just like last night, and it's not, because there's no hesitation on Theo's part. Liam opens up for him and Theo _takes_ , drawing the kiss out of Liam like it's something tangible, like he's been itching to get his fingers back on it since they'd parted ways this morning.

Theo kisses like he has something to say, but he doesn’t know how to put it into words, so instead he just sticks his tongue in Liam’s mouth and hopes for the best. It's different from anyone else, from Hayden, and he thinks that maybe it's because Theo uses words differently than others, like they're a weapon.

Maybe he doesn't trust himself to use them properly. Liam doesn't know if it's true, but he knows that he can relate, and that's enough. Enough for right now, at least.

The kiss isn't idle, isn't distant, despite the clear way in which they're killing time together, waiting on Scott and Malia to finally make an appearance. Theo is present, purposeful, and he gets his hands in Liam's hair, ruining it with the kind of disregard Liam's come to expect from him.

Eventually, Liam gives in the rest of the way, wraps his arms around Theo's neck and lets himself enjoy the way the heat seeps between them. Theo's quiet about it at first, doesn't speak or groan, just devotes himself to licking Liam's mouth open with the sort of undeniable intent that makes Liam's head spin. After a couple of minutes though, the words come back, hot and sharp, like a lance.

"Who would've thought?" Theo murmurs, fingers gripping at Liam's hair, cradling his skull. "You and me? We make quite a pair, don't you think?"

Liam growls, digging his own--harmless--nails into Theo's shoulder blades. There's no _them_ , not in the way Theo's implying, but it's hard to remember that when all of his senses are occupied, flooded with Theo's scent and his lips and words and Liam just wants to fucking drown for once in something that isn't terrible.

"Stop talking," he orders, trailing a line of kisses along Theo's jaw, getting his teeth on the jut of bone. He likes it, the control. "You're not gonna ruin this like last time."

"Nah," Theo replies, breath hitching a little when Liam bites down beneath his jaw, hard enough to hurt. "Last time was all you, babe."

"I said _shut up_ ," Liam reminds him, heart thumping erratically at the nickname. "Don't fucking call me that."

"Bossy," Theo accuses, but he's not upset by it, not if the way he lifts Liam's mouth back to his is any indication, effectively shutting them both up.

He's not exactly sure how long they go on like that. At some point Theo gets his hands under Liam's shirt, nearly snapping the buttons off as he moves in closer, settled between Liam's spread legs where he's propped up against the radiator. He's hard against the inside of Liam's thigh, and it's a hell of a thought, the realization that it's not the first time Liam's been in this position, but he's hard too and there's no hiding it.

"We should stop," Liam grunts after awhile, dizzy with the prolonged contact, the way Theo's grip hasn't let up. "They've gotta be almost here by now. We're gonna get caught."

"They're gonna know anyways," Theo contends, forehead pressed against his. He curls his fingers around the swell of Liam's cock in his pants, thumbs over the head of it, right where Liam's been leaking into the fabric for the better part of ten minutes, and Liam bucks his hips, choking back a whine. "They're gonna be able to smell us."

"Theo," he groans, half irritation, half desire swimming together in his brain. " _Theo_."

"Yeah?" Theo squeezes once, sweet pressure between Liam's legs and Liam's hand jumps to his neck, instinctive. "You want me to touch you?"

It's stupid--they're already touching, pressed up against one another for so long now Liam's starting to forget which limbs are his, and it would be so much easier to let it happen, but Scott is on his way and he cannot find them like this.

"Later," he promises, because he's a fucking idiot and does things like leave the front door unlocked, lets Theo waltz in and make himself at home, do whatever he pleases. "Later, when they're gone, okay?"

Theo kisses him again, desperate, hungry. He _wants_ , Liam can feel it like he can feel Theo against him, and he kisses back. That same desperation is there inside of him, making his hands shake, and he grips at Theo, holds on like touching him even more is going to make the fire burn lower instead of hotter.

"You can't expect me to just stand here," Theo growls, tugging at Liam's bottom lip with his teeth. His hands are vice-like on Liam's hips, "and not _touch_ you. Christ, I'm not made of fucking stone."

It takes everything in Liam to draw back, to remove his hands from Theo's biceps, fit them over Theo's where he's locked onto Liam's hipbones, and _breathe_.

"You want Malia to kill you on the spot?" he asks, huffing out a laugh. He sounds a little hysterical, and damn Theo for still having the ability to send Liam careening off the edge, barely hanging on by a thread. Damn him all the way back to hell. "'Cause she will, if she catches you trying to hump me to death."

Theo growls louder, but this time Liam's words do the trick. He rubs his cheek against Liam's once, with intent, like Liam doesn't already reek of him, and then he rips himself away, teeth gritted.

Liam watches him go, watches him trying to pull himself together, to settle back into his own skin instead of outside of it, beneath Liam's. Theo looks _wrecked_ , cheeks flushed and eyes bright, dick still hard in his own jeans. Liam can smell him, the way he smells like Liam and sweat and desire, and he knocks his own head back against the wall.

It's less than ten minutes from then that they hear the sound of Stiles' old Jeep pulling up, and Liam's regained some semblance of decency, but it's tentative at best. Theo glances at him, the same way he's been doing since they'd split apart, his eyes still a little dark. When Scott and Malia finally appear, bursting through the side door smelling stressed and fearful, the cool night air hits Liam like a bucket of ice, contested only by Theo moving to stand next to him again, the bastard.

Talking about the bodies is kind of a buzzkill, and seeing Peter show up out of the blue is even more so, but by the time they're all heading their separate ways again, Liam's still antsy. Theo looks more than a little grim watching Malia and Scott go, but he makes no move to follow them.

"I'm not sleeping in your truck again," Liam announces once everyone else is gone. Theo raises an eyebrow at him, and Liam crosses his arms. "I have standards," he snaps, growling when Theo's eyebrow nearly meets his hairline. "Not high ones, but higher than living out of your damn car."

Theo snorts, his expression tightening minutely before he fishes his keys out of his pocket.

"Fine then, princess," he replies, swinging them around one finger. "Let's go rent you a castle for the night."

Liam contemplates biting him again, and not in a fun way, but Theo is already leaving the school and Liam has no choice but to follow.

They stop by the clinic again, this time so Liam can grab himself an extra set of clothes, and he spots a battered duffle bag in the backseat of Theo's truck, poorly hidden beneath the blankets from last night. It makes him wonder, just for a moment, the item out of place in a way that jiggles at something in his head, but then Theo barks at him to buckle up and they're taking off with a roar of the engine.

-.-

They pull into the parking lot of a motel just skirting the edge of town, far enough from the more sensible neighborhoods for the local crime scene to feel comfortable enough to hole up there. It's not a fantastic place, but given how the whole town seems to be devolving into a hotbed of criminal activity, it's probably safer than most other options.

"I'll get us a room," Theo says, just a little uneven. Liam just clutches more tightly to the spare change of clothes in his lap and says nothing, nodding. He doesn't trust himself to speak, unsure of what might come out. His leg jitters in the seatwell, betraying the mad jumble of his thoughts.

His head is full of static, like a bad signal trying to tune into a radio station that's just out of reach. It's hard to think about anything, to focus, with the anxiety and the desire grappling for room inside of him. Theo's only gone for a couple of minutes, and he waves a key at Liam as he approaches the truck again, the number visible on the plastic attaché.

Liam's out of the cab before he knows what he's doing, tossing his clothes over his shoulder and heading towards the end of the building, the last room on the right side.

He doesn’t listen for Theo, can hear him anyways, and flounders at the sound of his footsteps hot on Liam's heels. He wants to put distance between them almost as much as he wants to eat it up, shove his hands between Theo's clothes and his skin, feel him at his most vulnerable, his least annoying.

He stops at the door, frustrated because he's not the one with the key, but Theo steps behind him, slides the key into the lock and their shoulders brush. Liam nearly trips trying to get inside, throwing his armful of clothes onto the ratty looking chair in the corner. It smells stale, like creaky yellowing walls and old linens. His mouth tastes like an ashtray mere seconds after they've crossed the threshold, and he can practically see the fingerprints on the desk, the lamp, the dusty TV screen.

"This up to your standards, Your Highness?" Theo asks, shutting the door behind him and dropping his duffle bag with a muted _thump_. "I asked for the nicest room they had, told 'em you were special and everything."

There's only one bed.

A pit forms in Liam's stomach, the anxiety and arousal merging together to form some terrible thing gnawing relentlessly at his insides. There's no turning back from this, not tonight, anyways.

"How have you ever managed to seduce anyone," he asks in return, turning around to face Theo with reluctance, "when all you ever do is run your mouth?"

Theo doesn't appear bothered, as usual. "I can be good if you want me to," he says, tilting his head. The gleam in his eyes grows a little wicked. "Or bad, if you're into that sort of thing."

Liam shakes his head. "How about you stop talking," he suggests, tilting his chin downwards, "and prove it."

That's all the encouragement Theo needs apparently, because he's on Liam in seconds, their hands and mouths picking up from where they'd left off before. All of it drops away, the awkward car ride, the bodies in the freezer, in the woods, the fear of getting caught. No one can get them here, in this crumbling motel room on the edge of town, and it's almost a relief, knowing that no one will come looking.

Theo gets his hands under Liam's shirt again, but this time it doesn't last. Liam's grumbling, trying to maintain the kiss while he unbuttons his own shirt, until Theo gets frustrated and rips the last few off, pushing it down past Liam's shoulders.

"Hey," Liam complains, but Theo doesn't let him finish, the shirt dropping to the floor as hands splay across his bare skin. He shivers in the sparing warmth of the motel room, the musty smell already flagging under the smell of hormones and lust, their chemosignals going crazy in tandem with one another.

Liam's fingers curl underneath the edges of Theo's sweater, confident now that he's already half-naked. They're doing this, one way or another, and Liam's not going to be the only one stripping it down, so to speak.

"Off," he mumbles, tugging the fabric upwards, and he frowns when Theo has to break away from him to pull his sweater over his head, but the reward is more than worth it in the end.

He's greedy, can't help himself, probably would've gawked at just the idea of getting to touch Theo without his clothes on had Theo not dragged him right back into the kiss. The other boy is demanding, bruising in his desire in a way that would leave Liam sore and breathless if he were anyone other than himself, but as it is, he's not interested in being passive.

"Should we turn on the light?" Liam asks, breath stuttering as Theo nips at his jaw. "It's dark in here."

"I can see you just fine," Theo replies, blinking up at him long enough for Liam to get a glimpse of his eyes, gold and entirely inhuman. He noses under Liam's jaw, back to that place he's so obsessed with, taking the skin in between his teeth and biting. It's not hard enough to draw blood, but just hard enough to send a message, and Theo waits while Liam's brain catches up, trying to make the connection.

"Fucking fine," Liam mutters in response, head tilting back as he steps into the wolf's vision, the room around them sharpening like Theo's teeth. He gasps softly when the sting of fangs is replaced by a tongue, warm and wet against his skin as Theo works his mouth against the bite, licks his way up Liam's neck until he can get back to his mouth.

"This doesn't mean anything," Liam tells him, shaken by the way his wolf seems to think it does, whimpering and practically fucking rolling over for Theo. He feels more than a little betrayed by it. "I don't belong to you."

"Sure you don't," Theo replies, smug and smelling far too self-satisfied. It burns at Liam's nose, sickly sweet, enough to make him growl and dig his fingers into the hard muscle of Theo's back. Theo just snickers against his mouth, hands moving to cup Liam's ass without shame, and the movement is so blatant, so proprietary that Liam can't help but press himself harder into Theo.

"That's what I thought." It's Liam's turn to bite down on Theo's neck as Theo gloats, and his teeth find purchase in the soft, vulnerable skin. The muffled groan it earns him is payment enough, and Liam bites a little harder, just because he can.

-.-

Theo doesn't have much of anything to his name.

Nothing but his truck, the clothes on his back, and a past he's trying to outrun. Except Theo is selfish, always has been, and he thought he could break that habit too, turn over a new leaf, cast those old vices aside but he _can't_.

Liam whines beneath him, soft and broken and Theo is _terrible_ , he's awful, a liar and a killer and selfish all the way down to his bones. He deserves what he got, all of it, deserves to be alone and he deserves it more than ever now, for the way he gets his hands on Liam and kisses him to own. Liam's not his, not really, but it feels like he is and Theo has _nothing_ , so he wants.

Liam lets him get away with it, so Theo _takes_.

Their clothes are long gone, and Theo's two fingers deep in Liam, stretching him, slicking him up like he has any business touching this boy he'd meant to kill less than a year ago. It's how he knows he's not better, different maybe, but not better. Good people don't chase after the people they've hurt, they don't want to touch them, ruin them the way Theo wants to ruin Liam so he can never look at anyone else.

Theo wants to be the only train wreck Liam sees, the exception to the rule, the sole receiver of his forgiveness, his attention. He wants to follow Liam around until Liam can't ignore him anymore, wants to rest his cheek in the crook of Liam's neck and _belong_ there. He wants the pack too, feels the way the wolf rumbles happily when Scott doesn't look at him like he wishes Theo were back underground, but it’s Liam all three of them want: the wolf, the coyote, and Theo himself. Three animals with teeth and avarice spilling from their mouths in excess, gluttony like a bib around their shared neck.

Theo is no less animal than the other two, but he puts on the mask, tries on human clothes and emotions every single morning, hoping that maybe this time around, they'll fit right.

He kisses Liam with teeth and tongue, with yellow eyes and throaty growls, and Liam returns every gesture in kind. He sees the animals beneath Theo's skin but he says nothing, the wolf inside of him pushing to the surface and looking back at Theo's, aware.

Liam is good and violent and sunshine and a hurricane and Theo is nothing, just a bad apple with a rotten core that had been scooped out and now he's just--

"You're thinking really loudly again," Liam says, pushing Theo's hair back out of his eyes. He looks at him, gaze bright and steady, and Theo just grunts, sliding another finger in so Liam won't have a reason to stare and Theo can keep pretending.

"Told you I was thinking about ruining you earlier," Theo tells him, because he's already admitted that part and he might as well make good on it. "Gonna do that now, actually."

"We'll see about that," Liam replies, but it's barely a sentence, cracking beneath the press of Theo's fingers inside of him and he gasps when Theo curls them without warning. Liam is still beneath him, legs spread and cock hard against his belly, and Theo would touch it too if both his hands weren't already occupied. The one that's not making Liam shiver is threaded into his stupid, messy hair, already sweaty and tangled from the way Liam's been rubbing his head against the pillow.

When Theo finally pulls his fingers free, committing the sound and the sensation to memory, he fumbles for the tube of lube on the bed next to him, but Liam swipes at it and makes a face in Theo's direction. His bottom lip is red and pouty, the only real evidence of the countless kisses they've traded in the past few minutes, but it's distracting enough that he manages to wrestle the tube from Theo's hands without much effort.

"Lemme do it," he says, clipped, the shortness of the demand ruined by the way he's flushed from his chest to his neck, the redness burning on his cheeks and Theo wants to put his mouth there again, _everywhere_. He's not even sure what Liam's referring to at first, right up until he hears the sound of lube being squeezed into Liam's palm, and there's a hand reaching between the two of them to wrap around Theo's cock.

He reaches out, braces himself on Liam's bent knee, and then Liam's leaning back up into him, lips parted. Theo knows that look, has come to anticipate it, so he leans into to meet him and their mouths brush. They kiss languidly, Liam working Theo's cock in a slow rhythm as he slicks him up, gets him ready the way Theo had done for him just moments prior.

He pulls back from the kiss after a few seconds, laughs a little into Liam's mouth, breath hitching as Liam's thumb flicks over the head of his dick, smearing wetness around it, down the side.

"Y'know I'm not trying to come before I actually get inside you, right?" he mutters, and Liam takes his bottom lip in between his teeth, tugs at it and strokes him a little harder, a little firmer.

"Didn't think this was all it took," he replies, and Theo growls more out of instinct than actual irritation.

Liam laughs, his free hand moving to cup Theo's face as their mouths part again and their eyes meet. His strokes slow until he's just touching, barely brushing with his thumb along the ridge beneath Theo's cockhead, torturous.

It's maddening, and so is the catch in Liam's voice when he asks, "How do you want me?"

Theo breathes, blinks back at those bright yellow eyes and _shit_ \--he's thought about it more than once, how this would go. Ideally he'd have Liam any way he wanted, in every way if they had time, but they only have tonight and the animals fight against one another in his head. The wolf wants to turn Liam over, get his teeth in the back of Liam's neck and hold him down until he has to bite the pillow, until he goes limp beneath Theo and lets him take what he wants.

The coyote disagrees. It wants to lick at Liam's collarbones, rub its scent all over and breathe Liam's air until they smell of nothing but one another. It wants to see Liam's eyes, catalogue the faces he makes, so Theo can remember them when the time comes, when he's alone again and Liam is avoiding him once more.

In the end, the coyote wins.

"Just like this," Theo says, the hand that was on Liam's knee curling around the back of his neck as he lays them back down, his other hand replacing Liam's on his own cock. "Want you to feel it."

Liam goes without fuss, though Theo doesn't miss the eyeroll at his words. He resolves not to be too offended, because Liam's just lying there, all splayed out against the covers, hair sticking to the sides of his head as he stares up at Theo.

Theo slides his arm under the crook of Liam's left leg, grips at his thigh, and lifts Liam up just enough so he can press into him, rub his cock against the stretched, puffy rim that's shiny with lube and sweat. It's a slow slide at first, both of them still new to getting off like this, to each other's bodies.

Theo watches Liam's face as his body draws Theo in deeper, sees the way his eyes squeeze shut and his mouth falls open a little wider, the way his muscles seize ever so slightly as the widest part of Theo's cock pushes into him. When he's fully seated, Theo has to take a moment for himself, a few seconds to turn his mouth against the inside of Liam's knee and breathe into it, try not to let go before he's even had a chance to move.

He's broken away from his battle with self control by Liam's voice, ragged but goading nonetheless.

"That all you're up for?" he asks, and Theo sees the way his upper lip curls, like a challenge. Theo rises to the occasion, because it's Liam and he just can't resist, not when they've made it this far already.

He sits up, lifting himself onto his knees, Liam's leg still hooked around his elbow, and starts to move. He wraps his other hand around the inside of Liam's right thigh, and the angle is _too_ good, just from the view alone. He can see everything like this, the way his cock disappears inside Liam's body, splitting him open. Liam's dick bounces against his abdomen, drooling precum that sticks to the skin and smears, shiny and wet in Theo's enhanced vision.

He can see Liam's face, the way he bites his lip when Theo picks up the pace, finds his own rhythm that Liam folds himself into like he'd just been waiting for Theo to figure it out.

"Should've done this before," he mutters, panting down at Liam beneath him, the other boy's fingers gripping at the sheets as Theo thrusts into him, hips snapping forward relentlessly. "Should've fucked all those messy feelings right out of you at the zoo, bet that would've kept you quiet, huh?"

Liam chokes, the flush on his cheeks deepening as Theo adjusts the angle ever so slightly, his cock rubbing up against something in Liam that makes him squirm deliciously.

"W-would've gotten us caught," he mumbles, unable to inject even half his usual malice into the words. "Would've gotten us both killed."

"Nah," Theo says, letting go of one of Liam's legs and dipping down to hover over him, unable to keep himself from chasing that mouth again. He would have killed those hunters if they'd seen anything, would've cracked their necks just for _looking_. "We had some time to kill, could've fucked you in one of those cages, like _animals_."

Liam's eyes go wide at that, his emotions rising and dipping in a tangled crescendo: lust, anger, fear, and Theo wonders which one is the real one, the one that matters. After a moment, Liam surges forward to kiss him again, vicious and biting, their teeth clacking together in a way that makes Theo's jaw hurt for a moment before Liam's wrapping his arms around Theo's back, one hand sliding to grip his ass as he fucks into Liam, neither gentle nor slow.

"You better make me come," Liam growls between kisses, like Theo hadn't planned on it from the beginning, and that smarts a little, the idea that Theo would've taken what he wanted and left Liam to fend for himself. It's cruel, cold-hearted, something Before-Theo might've done if he was feeling particularly awful on any given day, but Now-Theo doesn't have the same backbone he used to, and if he believes hard enough, he can convince himself that this isn't about him.

That all of this is for Liam at the end of the day, a thank you, just another way for Theo to look out for him, not because Theo is greedy and possessive. Not because he actually _wants_.

Theo gets his hand around Liam's dick, starts jerking him in time with their thrusts, and it feels almost vindictive, like a reminder that this isn't about him, not anymore, not since Liam brought him back.

He's not going to last very long, it's a given, because Theo's young and he's desperate and this is _Liam_ of all people beneath him. He works Liam's cock, pulling out all the stops, squeezing gently at the base and flicking at the head, grinding his hips into Liam's as he tries not to ruin this, tries not to come first.

When Liam does come, it's with a shout, guttural and choked as he tips his head back and spurts into Theo's hand, all over his belly, warm and sticky. Theo buries his face in Liam's neck with relief, the fire in his own gut threatening to boil over as a weight lifts from his shoulders. Liam shakes with it, his cheek pressed to Theo's hair as he gasps, and Theo marvels at how he'll smell of Liam for days after this. Maybe even longer, if he's careful about it.

"C'mon," Liam murmurs in his ear a minute later, fucked out and loose, his body still wrapped around Theo so perfectly as Theo keeps fucking him, chasing his own release. "Just let it go, Theo, just come for me. C'mon. _C'mon_."

Theo lets go, comes with an embarrassing half-whine, half-growl that he can't attribute directly to either animal. Liam holds him, one arm draped loosely around his waist, the other in his hair as Theo rides it out, comes apart on top of him and gets his teeth in Liam's neck again. He can't help that part, does it without thinking, like grabbing on to the nearest solid object to steady himself.

It takes a few seconds, and Liam's generous with his attention, all things considered, letting Theo hold him down with his teeth and come inside of him without a single complaint. It's probably the after effects of orgasm, of a brief respite from the nightmare that is their lives that makes him so agreeable, but Theo eats it up, doesn’t question where it comes from.

"Can't stay like this forever." Liam prods at him after a few minutes, voice a little more even, and Theo huffs into his neck.

"Can't we?" he asks, uncaring how stupid it makes him sound. "Was planning on passing out right here, actually." He shifts a little, his cock still half inside Liam's body, and they both groan.

"Not like this, you're not," Liam reprimands, shoving at Theo with both hands. "You'll suffocate me before the night's through. Move your ass."

Theo grunts in displeasure, but he rolls to the side, dick sliding out of Liam fully and he catches the accompanying wince, but feels too boneless to do more than slap Liam on the chest once he's moved back into his own space. Liam just grunts, pulling himself up and moving towards the bathroom, probably to clean himself up. Theo knows he should too, since they have to sleep on this bed and the comforter is already damp from sweat and lube. He wrinkles his nose, but doesn't move.

A washcloth, smelling slightly mildew-y, hits him in the face and he frowns, fisting it in one hand as Liam makes his way back to the bed, still plenty naked and a little wild in the eye. That's normal, though, the part about the way his eyes never really dim, not even after sex, apparently. Theo files that information away in his head as he cleans himself off, tossing the rag somewhere across the room. They won't be staying here tomorrow, and it's not like this place isn't near-filthy anyways.

Liam crawls back into bed, tucks himself under the thin covers, and Theo joins him after a moment, trying not to think about what might be left over on the sheets from previous guests. It's quiet for all of a few moments, but Theo knows it can't last.

He breaks the silence first, because Liam looks lost in thought and that's usually never a good thing.

"Should get some sleep," he says, pointing out the obvious. "Scott's gonna be asking for us tomorrow morning."

Liam huffs in what sounds like reluctant agreement, staring up at the ceiling, and Theo dares to reach out, to put his hand on Liam's arm.

Liam looks over at him, his mouth drawn in at the corners, brow furrowing like he's already back to overthinking everything, and Theo sighs. He can only do so much, it seems.

They lie like that, eyes pale and human in the dark. Theo's animals are quiet, snoozing beneath his skin with the quiet of the night around them, with Liam beside him, his skin against Theo's.

He's not sure exactly when he drifts off to sleep, but his hand remains wrapped around Liam's arm, steadying, a reassurance.

-.-

When Liam wakes up, everything feels stiff.

It's not a new sensation, just a near-forgotten one, since being a werewolf tends to eliminate things like joint problems and general creakiness, even in the mornings. He blinks up at the ceiling for a moment, trying to get his bearings, and the sound of soft breathing from beside him registers in his head.

Theo is there, sound asleep beside him, face slack and arms curled beneath the lumpy pillow. He's still naked, the covers having slipped down to rest on his hips sometime overnight. Liam is equally undressed and he shifts atop the mattress, the smell of sex and a faint stickiness between his legs the only other evidence of what they'd done the night before.

He's up and out of the bed before the thought can finish processing in his head, storming over to the chair where he'd haphazardly thrown his clean clothes the night before, too drunk on lust and stupidity to care about the suspicious stains on the chair's upholstery. He tugs them on, the fabric scratching his skin, and as he's buttoning up the jacket he turns to see Theo lifting his head from the pillow, watching him.

He looks at Liam, takes in the scowl etched on his face and the way his fingers quiver slightly, struggling with the buttons. He's sure his hair is a wreck, no amount of smoothing it down with his hands satisfactory enough to keep it in check.

"Scott already text us or something?" Theo asks him, still a little bleary with sleep, and Liam's mouth tightens.

"I'm leaving," he says, because he can't stand to be in this shitty motel room any longer, can't stand to look at Theo when he looks like _that_ ; all soft eyed and vulnerable in bed where he'd fallen asleep beside Liam last night.

Theo frowns, tilting his head at Liam, blinking the sleep from his eyes. "What?" he asks, leaning back on his hands. "I'm not even dressed yet, dude, come on."

"This _cannot_ happen again," Liam says, wishing he had time to shower, to get the overwhelming smell of Theo off of him. "We're not doing this."

Theo just looks at him, hair disheveled, face blank. "You keep saying that," he says slowly, sitting up in the bed. A lock of hair falls into his face. "I don't think it means what you think it means."

"Shut the hell up," Liam barks back, gathering yesterday's clothes into a bundle and tucking them underneath one arm. "I'm leaving, don't bother trying to follow."

"It's a long way back to the clinic," Theo notes, far too matter of fact for a moment like this. "You should probably let me drive us both."

"I have legs," Liam hisses, heading for the door. "I'll _walk_."

"Jesus _Christ_ ," Theo swears under his breath, and then he's out of bed as well, combing through the duffle bag by the door as Liam wrenches it open, ignoring Theo's indignant squawk when the cold air hits his bare skin.

He's made it out of the parking lot by the time Theo's truck rumbles up next to him, the engine idling angrily as Theo rolls down the window on the passenger side.

"Get in, dumbass," he hisses, scowling at Liam from the driver's seat. "I'm not gonna tell Scott I lost you on the edge of town because you decided to walk and got yourself shanked."

Liam sneers at him, half tempted to sink his claws into the side of the door and scrape through the metal, ruin Theo's beautiful truck the way Theo ruins everything else for Liam, all the time.

He doesn't, though, just grabs the door handle and wrenches it open, gritting his teeth at the way the door creaks on its hinges.

"This is your fault," Liam tells him, once he's climbed into the cab and Theo hits the gas. "I never should've listened to you."

"My fault?" Theo huffs, incredulous. It's barely a question. "Last time I checked, you said _yes_ , Liam. You knew what we were getting into, getting a hotel room together. Don't act like it was all my idea."

"Wasn't it?" Liam shouts, high and irate. His voice wobbles. "I don't even _like_ you, Theo. Let's not pretend you thought any different last night."

Theo is silent, and Liam doesn't dare look over at him, just lets the absence of anything but the sound of the truck's wheels ring in his ears.

"I told you that you needed to start taking responsibility for yourself," Theo says, low and quiet, moments after Liam's resigned himself to the conversation ending. "That needs to start right the hell now--you're not gonna pin your issues on me just 'cause it makes you feel better."

"You're not my fucking mom," Liam spits, hands clenching. "You don't get to lecture me about _shit_ , not with your track record."

Theo growls, deep and rumbling, angrier than the engine of the truck or the roar of the tires beneath them. Liam feels it in his bones, the way the barb sinks deep, catches on something vulnerable and _tears_.

"Go to hell," he snarls, without even looking in Liam's direction.

They ride in terrible, gut-clenching silence the rest of the way to the clinic.

**Author's Note:**

> I don't fucking claim that shirt Liam was wearing during 6x17. You know the one. I mean, I know he was Going Through It and all, but that doesn't give him an excuse to dress like my dad circa 1995. What the fuck.
> 
> Also, Liam's hair went from decently combed to completely destroyed over a handful of minutes at the end of that episode. I'm not saying he and Theo made out in that basement while they were waiting for Scott and Malia, but that's what I'm saying.
> 
> Anyways, tell me what you thought because just writing the porn alone took years off of my life and I need validation, okay? Yelling is permitted. Kisses. <3


End file.
